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chuck wendig

Goodbye, Jitters

Exterior of the Redmond Jitters Coffee Shop
Silver and gold balloons adorn the Jitters exterior. They've been around 22 years!
Today was a mournful day. Every morning I go grab coffee at a local coffee shop called Jitters, which has been around Redmond much longer than I have: 22 years to my 14. But now they’ve had to close their location (a repurposed bank building) and haven’t been able to find a new place.

They’re celebrating their last day in style: balloons, a big card for everyone to sign, and free coffee all day long, but there is a sad undertone to the merriment. We’d gone through the drivethrough, then came in to sign the card and say goodbye. Last week, I’d made sure to sign up for the mailing list, to be notified if they find a new location, but so far the manager hasn’t seemed very hopeful about that.

As we were coming towards the door, a gentleman was coming out. We nodded at each other and he paused. Both of us felt, I think, a need to mark the occasion, to acknowledge the Jitters bond. “Sad day,” he said. “Very sad,” I replied. Inside all the baristas were glammed out and a little shell-shocked, I think, that this day had come.

Picture of Bromeliad, Chemex, Globe, and a dragon-shaped mug.
This is my new lifestyle. It's more solitary yet stylish. The dragon mug is from my crazy aunt.
Meanwhile, I’ve bought a lovely Chemex in order to make coffee at home after reading a recent Chuck Wendig post about it. I fear that I finally have fallen into the Seattle trap and become a coffee snob. I even have some Tonx coffee coming, since they are willing to give you a free sample. And there’s a pleasing ritual to it, the dousing of the filter in hot water, then using that water to warm the mug. Wayne got me an electric kettle for Christmas after watching the two saucepan version of that dance, and it rocks.

Still, I will sorely miss Wendy and Megan and Amanda and all the rest of the cheerful Jitters crew.

...

Links and News for Friday, November 18, 2011

If you’re a Redmond resident, there’s an open mike at the Teen Center this Saturday. I’m hoping some of the students from the workshop I did there will show up to read pieces, so I’m going, and it should be a lively time.

Things to Look At

Writing Links

Just Because

Pimpage

  • I had a byline in the November 14th Publishers Weekly, with a Q&A with YA author J.H. Trumble. Unfortunately, you must be a subscriber to see the piece. Still – that’s a credit on my publication list that makes me squee a bit.
  • Got a new Kindle but don’t know what to read on it? Can five stars on Amazon be all that wrong? Try my collection, Eyes Like Sky and Coal and Moonlight.
  • If you’re interested in taking my online workshop, details can be found here.

I’m currently working on: a travel piece for Northwest Travel, an essay for Clarkesworld, an article on SEO for the SFWA Bulletin, the last rewrite of the current novel, being better about blogging, and preparation for the online workshop.

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"(On the writing F&SF workshop) Wanted to crow and say thanks: the first story I wrote after taking your class was my very first sale. Coincidence? nah….thanks so much."

~K. Richardson
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